The 100
by Emil Lime
Summary: 923 years have passed since Nuclear War ravaged the earth's surface. For generations, humans have lived in space, waiting aboard the Ark for the world to become survivable again. But when the Ark begin to fail, they must do the unthinkable: send 100 juvenile prisoners to the ground. With the fate of the human race on their shoulders, they must charter a new course for humanity.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello and thank you for choosing my humble fic. This is my first Voltron fanfiction (I just felt the need to add to this community after the gutting season 8 did to our collective souls). This fic is based off of the TV series by the same name, but you don't need to have any knowledge about "The 100" to enjoy the fic. If you have seen the show, it may give you some insight into upcoming events, as I'm relying heavily on some of the different events and themes of the show to create this fic. This is NOT a crossover fic, in case anyone was wondering or was confused.

Please enjoy!

* * *

"In the times of old, before the war, humanity lived on the ground. It was a lush, green place, thriving with life in the most wild and unexpected ways. Technology blossomed under the fingertips of the ancestors and bloomed into the most advanced civilizations the world had come to know. But humans grew arrogant and greedy. They become obsessed with advancement, driven by power and fueled by devastation. With each push forward, more of their humanity fell away.

And then war began. They began to destroy themselves and soon, they began to destroy the world. The plants withered, the water dried up and the sun failed to rise through the thick, black plumes that was humanity's creation.

It wasn't long after that, then. When the breaking point was reached and humanity's desires to be on top knocked them down to the very bottom of the chain.

Nuclear war.

Only those who'd been awakened to the impending doom were able to save themselves, having built thirteen massive ships called Arks. As the world began to bleed from the actions of her caretakers, these Arks departed on their first and final voyage midst a sea of red and black. Up into the sky, drifting just above the atmosphere, the thirteen would sit. And it was there that they would wait. For the Arks were not meant to be a destination, but a way point. A way point for humanity in it's darkest hours. Perhaps, in the next thousand years, humans could rebuild their humanity, rediscover their own morality and again be able to set foot on the ground.

Perhaps in the next one thousand years they could change and the world could rebuild what had been broken. The radiation that had soaked into the very core of the earth could finally still. Humans could live on the ground once more. But until then, humanity was sentenced to float above their own destruction, witness to their fallen world."

Passage from The First Record, written by Chancellor Bishop Steel

* * *

The 100

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

The stacks of paper all across the table were common place. So was the pile of discarded clothes by the side of the bed. So was the clutter of coffee cups in the kitchen sink. Takahsi Shirogane had gotten used to this being the norm, especially since the only other alternative was to break up with the man he'd spent the last couple of years dating.

Adam was a very diligent and precise man, one that made sure everything was in place. Except for at home. Maybe it was because Adam spent so much energy keeping things in line when it came to his professional life that there was simply nothing left to give when he got home. Shiro had long since given up on trying to figure out the inner workings of Adam's mind, especially since the conversation usually drifted to Adam's take on Shiro's peculiar habits and behaviors. Not that Shiro felt any of those complaints were valid—Shiro did not hog all the blankets; he just happened to have more on his side in the night because Adam tossed and turned too much.

Regardless, he pushed up the sleeves of his worn Henley shirt and set himself the task of cleaning up now that he was done with work. Being an engineer, he barely felt like he had time to clean anyway, but by the time Adam was home from _teaching_ about engineering to a bunch of doe-eyed children, the two were even less likely to clean.

Shiro did spot the note sitting on the counter, next to a stack of unwashed cups: 'dinner tonight is on me. I'm buying something special :)'

The little message brought a smile to Shiro's face before he set to work cleaning up the misadventures of his boyfriend from around the house. Humming to himself, he stopped when he heard the doorbell chime twice. Glancing at his watch, he furrowed his brow. It was still too early for Adam to be home. Padding across the front room, he pressed the button to slide open the door, a man he knew all too well standing there.

"Alfor? What is it?" It was rare for Alfor to be seen walking about without escort. Being the chancellor of the Ark, Alfor had made himself just as infamous as famous. He followed the charters without question and without mercy, which in part kept the Ark running smoothly, but also led to a rather large group of disenfranchised individuals.

"Shiro, I need you to look at something."

Without a word, Shiro pulled on his shoes and followed after. He was considered one of the best engineers on the ship. If Alfor was coming to him directly, there had to be a major issue. After all, major issues were not uncommon on the Ark, though that little detail was rarely advertised. The ship was 922 years old and had gone without any significant form of repair since it's launch from the ground that many years ago. They did what they could from the inside and outside, but there was a limit to parts and supplies that no amount of scraping or searching for long-since broken satellites would fix. But, they'd always managed to find a way. There was always some work-around. Shiro, himself, had managed to invent rather creative fixes for some rather hefty problems before, which was why Alfor was falling on him now.

They descended into the belly of the Ark and Alfor only spoke once they'd passed the 'service people only' sign. "As you know, these past 922 years have been stressful on the haul of the Ark, as well as all of her systems. When we added the other Arks all those years ago, we'd hoped for a so-called economic boom. The merge saved the Arks that day and allowed us to live for several more years. But this..."

They reached the bottom of the stairs, shuffling over to a massive machine labeled 'CO2 Scrubber'. It had seen better days, it's body patched together like Frankenstein. "Luca was down here earlier and said she could hear noises coming from within the machine. I don't trust anyone else but you to look at this vital piece of machinery."

Nodding, Shiro smiled at Chancellor Alfor. "Not a problem. I'll get her fixed right up."

* * *

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 3

Classroom D

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Adam took a long breath in. He'd been fighting off a headache for the past week now and nothing seemed to kick it. With the medication rationing, he couldn't even get a spare aspirin. Adjusting his glasses, he determined he'd spent too long trying to grade these papers anyway. Standing and stretching, he made to grab his bag when the classroom door opened. Poking a curious head inside was one of his students, and a favorite at that.

"Keith, shouldn't you be home already?"

He looked a bit sheepish but shook his head, "I stayed to tutor someone. I saw your light on, so..."

Smiling, Adam picked up his bag and headed towards Keith. "How about we walk home together, then? I'm sure Takashi would be happy to see you." The mentioning of the other man's name seemed to melt away all embarrassment.

"That's a great idea!" Beaming, Keith stepped aside and walked beside Adam as the two headed out of the classroom and into the hall. The Ark had long ago been sectioned off, creating a sort of city within the strung together ships. Subsection 3 housed the school, whole blocks of rooms re-purposed for educational use. Like so many subsections, it was redesigned as best as possible to it the needs of the population. It also gave Adam a place to work. And as they left the school, they took to walking down the nearly empthy hall towards the large marketplace.

Keith inquired, "So, what are you guys doing tonight?"

Adam smiled. "Not much. I've got something special for dinner planned. Then we'll see where the night takes us, I guess." Glancing at Keith, he could see the red beginning to etch up his neck and cheeks. "Uh, not like that! Keith, don't think like that, your mother will kill me!"

"Oh," Diverting his gaze, the two walked in silence before Keith added, "My mom is pretty scary."

Chuckling, Adam nodded. "Krolia is just protective, nothing wrong with that."

Once they reached the market, passing the checkpoint with ease, the noise level rose and Adam winced at the sudden drumming on his ears. He and Shiro wouldn't be having a very romantic night if he was forced to spend the whole time with his head under a pillow in a totally dark bedroom. Then again, Shiro was often one to simply enjoy cuddling.

 _He's such a softy_ , Adam thought fondly.

It didn't take the two long to pick out the best cuts of synthetic steaks and a special dessert for he and Shiro to split, and the two were headed back to Shiro's quarters. Adam had long since moved in with Shiro and while they didn't always see eye-to-eye, he'd been glad he moved. It'd strengthened their relationship quiet a bit, honestly, and he couldn't image spending time with anyone else.

"So what's so special about today?" Keith finally asked.

"It's our 3 year anniversary and I wanted to make it very special." He winked at Keith, whom raised an eyebrow in response. "I love Takashi and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Tonight, I'm going to make that apparent to him. Tonight, I'm going to propose." His own heart was racing as he said it, the very thought making his palms sweat and limbs shake. Asking the man he'd accidentally fallen in love with to marry him was no easy task, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing was going to ruin this night, especially Adam's nerves.

Reaching the door, Adam made to ring the bell but it slide open before he could even reach for the button. Shiro was standing there, looking distressed, his hair a mess. "Adam, we need to talk."

* * *

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

Keith was dismissed to the living room, sitting anxiously on his hands, as the other two went into the bedroom to talk. The bag of steaks and dessert sat abandoned and forgotten on the kitchen table. All Keith could hear their murmured voices, Shiro's sounding beyond distressed. Adam had his usual reserved tone, one that was meant to sooth. Whatever had Shiro spooked, it had to be bad.

He tried to push it out of his mind, though, and busied himself with skimming over the papers on the coffee table. Some were already graded and absently, Keith wondered if he should dig through and change the grades on the papers of kids he hated. Tempting. But Shiro's shouting came through the door and while Keith couldn't make out the words, he knew this was something far more serious than he'd originally expected.

Standing and approaching the door, though better judgment told him to keep his nose clean, he pressed an ear to the cool metal and listened. It was still muffled, but Shiro's next statement came through clear as a whistle: "Adam, the Ark is dying. It might not even last the year."

Keith's entire core went numb. That couldn't be right. The Ark had it's share of problems but whatever was wrong with it was fixable. It'd always been fixable.

"Are you sure, Takashi? You checked it a dozen times, ran different algorithms, considered alternatives?"

"I wouldn't be this panicked if I hadn't."

Silence followed and Keith could feel the ice forming in his stomach.

"Adam, this is serious. The Scrubbers are cleaning at fifty percent. That's it. It'd explain your headaches, explain why people are getting sick easier."

"Alfor said that was because of a bad batch of vaccinations."

"But you and I both know that's garbage. There's no bad batches because there are no vaccinations, not since the 700s."

This wasn't real. None of it was. Keith's legs were shaking. Just what the hell was happening?

"What are you going to do, Takashi? What is Alfor going to do?"

A sigh. "He doesn't know. I told him we should inform the Ark, let everyone know that this is an impending thing. Maybe we could all work together to come up with a solution..."

Adam huffed, "Or it'd start a riot."

"And that's what Alfor's worried about. He said a riot would only make things worse. The last thing the Ark needs is anarchy."

"He's not wrong..."

"But he's not right, either. This is happening, Adam, rather we're ready for it to or not. We need the whole intelligence of every man, woman and child working on this problem and if we keep it to ourselves, if we try to fix it under everyone's nose..." A longer sigh, followed by the sound of Shiro shifting and sitting on the bed. "God, Adam, I don't even what to think about it."

Keith, on the other side of the door, was frozen in place. What he was hearing, it couldn't be true. Shiro had to be mistaken. But, the man wasn't known for his mistakes and he wasn't known for being dramatic. If he was truly rattled by this, it meant there was nothing but truth to his words. But that meant the Ark was dying and Keith didn't know what to do with that.

Adam spoke next, though softer. Keith strained to hear. "Takashi, please tell me you'll do what Alfor asks. He wants to keep this under wraps, so you'll do that, right?"

"I...I don't know."

"Takashi, even telling me is risky. It's borderline treason."

"I know, Adam, I do. But...we have two years at best before the scrubber stops working completely. When that happens, everyone on board the Ark will die. 3,000 innocent souls perishing in a single night. And to sit there, suffocating, thinking to myself, 'if only I'd done something to stop this'."

"Don't talk like that. You'll find a solution."

"I don't think we will, Adam. The system is just too old and too worn. If we had another Ark to salvage, maybe, but they've been linked to us for a long time. Their scrubbers are just as worn and exhausted as ours...This is it, Adam. The Ark is going to die."

More silence.

No. That couldn't be right. Keith wasn't going to believe it. There had to be a solution. Pulling the door open, fear in his eyes, he looked at Shiro. "No, you've got to find a way to fix it!"

Both of them startled, Adam immediately standing and looking concerned. "Keith, you shouldn't have been listening."

"But I did and I heard." He regarded Shiro. "Please, there's got to be something we can do! Anything!"

Shiro stood this time, stepping towards Keith and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'll do what I can, Keith. But you need to pretend you never heard this conversation. You can't know this, ok?"

Keith's whole being was shaking, but he nodded. Shiro would find a way to fix it. Surely he would.

* * *

Day 335,754, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

"What did you do!?" Adam was shouting, knocking the stack of papers from the coffee table. "Goddamn it, Takashi, are you crazy!?"

Shiro gently pushed on Adam's shoulders, urging him to sit back down. "I'm doing what I think is right."

"Alfor will kill you, it's the law!"

"I'm sure he'll make an exception, alright? I'm the leading engineer, and besides, once I play this message, the whole Ark will know what's happening and when he sees how it brings everyone together, maybe it'll change his mind."

"Damn you and your goddamned good intentions!" He shoved Shiro, pressing the heels of palms into his eyes, glasses tossed aside. "And if he doesn't? If he decides to have you floated instead? If the people start to rebel and he needs to make an example of someone?"

Sitting down next to Adam, Shiro wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "I have faith that the people of the Ark will unite. They have in the past and they will again. Have faith, Adam." Rubbing his hand in small circles along the small of Adam's back, Shiro sat quietly until the other man had calmed down some. It took a moment before Adam would even look in Shiro's direction. Even as he offered Adam his glasses, Adam still refused to look at him.

Finally, though, he spoke. "So what now?"

"Now," Shiro stated, "I go to the communications room and send this message to the people of the Ark."

* * *

Day 336,754, AE 922

Ark Substation 1

Airlock

Adam had to be held back, even as he tried to worm his way free from the guards holding him still. They were waiting outside the airlock, the one that'd seen thousands of people's lives end in an instant. This was where the executions were held. This was where people were shot into space, or floated, for their crimes. It was a simple airlock, one that connected with nothing but the void of space, and sat hidden behind a hanger door. Large windows gazed out upon the blackness of space, the other side of the massive ship visible, as well as the marbled planet below. At one time, the view might have been seen as breathtaking, now it only served to steal the air from the lungs of the guilty.

"You can't do this, Alfor! Please! Takashi only wanted to help the Ark, you have to understand that!"

Alfor, even as old as he was, looked somehow older standing there wordlessly. Stoic in the face of Adam's demanding and pleading, he only turned to speak then. "I don't want to do this, but as Chancellor, I must enforce the law and the law states that anyone who is eighteen or older is sentenced to death."

"But you have the power to change that, Alfor, you can make an exception! He didn't even get the message out!" Takashi had been aprehended before he'd even aired it. Punishment seemed harsh, death even worse.

Councilor Sanda spoke then, regarding Adam with no mercy in her features. "And thank God for that. If he'd succeeded, we'd have a riot on our hands and you'd be sent through the airlock as well. Thankfully, only one man has to die today."

Adam fought harder against the guards who held him, trying to break free, something, anything.

That's when Sanda spoke again, growling, "Stop struggling or we'll have you spaced for insubordination."

Alfor rose a hand to Sanda, shaking his head. "He has a right to be upset. We will not float him for having an opinion." She lowered her eyes for a fraction of a second before raising them up, glaring daggers into Adam. From behind them, the hanger door opened and Keith and Krolia walked in.

Stepping over to Krolia, Alfor gave a concerned look towards Keith. "You shouldn't have brought him here. He doesn't need to see."

Krolia, like etched marble, kept her face frozen. "If he doesn't need to see, then maybe you shouldn't do it."

"You get no say in the actions of the Chancellor, Krolia, even if you're a member of the council," Sanda growled.

Sharp eyes landed on Sanda, "I could say the same for you."

Keith had ventured away from his mother, going to Adam. The guards hesitantly let go of him so he could hug Keith tightly. "Keith, I'm so sorry." Squeezing the teen as hard as he could, he could feel Keith squeezing back. "You don't have to be here for this, Keith."

"No, I have to be." There was determination there, the same type of determination that'd been there ten years ago when Keith's father was floated. Keith had been there too, witnessed his father sucked into the vacuum of space. Now, he was going to witness it again. Another person whom Keith was close to, the only man whom he'd opened up to after his father's death. Gone in an instant. Just like his father.

Krolia approached, gently running her fingers through Keith's soft, black hair. She regarded Adam. "How are you fairing?" It was a stupid question, he knew, but he knew where it was coming from. There was nothing Krolia could say to make this situation any less horrible. All she could do was be there for him, same for with Keith. Adam's whole body began to tremble and he could feel the tears threatening him. But he wouldn't cry. Not in front of Shiro, not in front of Alfor and Sanda. Not in front of Keith.

Gently, he released Keith and squeezed his shoulders. Wordlessly they stood, waiting.

Waiting.

And then the sirens screamed.

Sanda's hand flew to the radio on her belt. "What's going on!?"

The voice from the other side, covered in static, responded, "An escape pod just launched!"

"What!?"

Rushing to the windows, they could see the white trail of the descending space craft. It was so tiny against the deep green and blue of the planet below. It was the radio that Adam heard speaking through the wail of the sirens and his own pounding heart, "Takashi Shirogane made an escape. He knocked out a guard and took his gun. He commandeered one of the old escape pods! He's heading towards earth!"

"Shoot him out of the sky!" Sanda screamed, but it was Alfor who gave the next command.

"Let him go. He's chosen death in his own way."

Adam had heard of it: suicide by earth. The escape pods of old sat lifeless in an old hanger bay, under constant surveillance for this very reason. Only a handful of people had ever chosen to eject themselves from the Ark. Now, Shiro was one of them. The radiation would soak through his skin before he even reached the lowest atmosphere. And if that didn't kill him, the impact would. Adam felt his heart sink deep into his stomach, completely numb.

This was the last time he'd ever see Shiro and it was in a blaze of unyielding defiance.

* * *

A/N: For you Shiro fans, please hang in there :) That's all I can say.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Welcome to chapter 2 of 'The 100'. Thanks to those of you who took the time to review/follow/fave. I appreciate it! Just FYI, I plan to try and update every Friday, but, for those who notice it's Saturday-I had an unexpected friends day yesterday, which was much needed because my week was _really_ crappy. But, I digress. I will aim to update every Friday but please keep in mind I work full-time, so I'm very busy. But I'll do what I can :)

Anyway, Enjoy!

* * *

"It's been considered theoretically possible to return to earth, though this discovery came years after what is being referred to as AE, or After Earth. The scientists aboard the Arks are talking to each other, some are even saying we could return to earth within the next couple of years—some sort of crazy radiation experiment being done on Ark 13, I guess. But others give more lofty estimates, saying within the next one thousand years. Long after I'm gone, unfortunately, unless those hacks at 13 actually have their heads screwed on right. But, even if that means I never see the ocean again, it means my great grandchildren could. And that's good enough for me."

Excerpt from the Diary of Ashley Granham, AE 6

* * *

The 100

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 12

Skybox

In his mind he found himself dreaming of a starry night without the need for protective helmets or thick glass. He tried to imagine what that would look like from the pictures in the books he'd seen throughout his seventeen years. Little balls of light, not unlike what they witnessed from the thick, small windows aboard the Ark. But it was somehow different in the pictures, because there was also the soft tickle of grass on his bare toes, the woodsy scent of pine and cedar wafting gently in a mid-summer breeze. The way it'd caress his skin and give him goosebumps. He tried to sink into the image of his mind, an image he'd seen in old magazines and photo albums, one that told a story he'd likely never be able to tell.

It was also in his mind's eye that he saw everyone standing there, smiling. His dad, tall and broad, a grin plastered on his face, just like the one he had in that stupid photo. His mother, arm around his dad's waist. She had a life about her, a spark in her eyes, something he hadn't seen in her in so long.

But even more amazing still, was the man standing beyond them, nose pointed towards the sky, eyes drinking up the view. He hadn't seemed to have noticed him standing there, awestruck. And the smile that pulled across his lips when he finally did notice was enough to make him shiver.

Just as the man's name came to his lips, Keith woke with a startle, the small cell he'd come to call his home for the past year being intruded upon. The whirl of gears, heavily rusted, pulling the clunker of a door open made him leap from a deep sleep, but the guards who came in, wearing full riot gear, surprised him more. Sitting up from his bed, he glared at them, "What the hell?"

Before the final syllable could leave his mouth, he was dragged from his bunk by the taller of the two guards. Fighting, squirming, Keith only landed a half-punch to the side of the man's face before electric current rendered his body temporarily useless. With a grunt, he hit the ground as the smaller guard put away the electric baton he'd pulled from his belt. Then the guards busied themselves with pulling Keith to his feet. He was pulled through the doorway, out into the tall, metal walkway of the Sky Box. A small part of the 12th subsection of the Ark, used for the detention of juvenile criminals.

Throughout the whole Sky Box, chaos erupted. Prisoners were being pulled from their cells, with guards using electric shock on anyone who didn't comply. There were others, too, overseeing the removal.

Keith tried to struggle but his body hung like lead. That's when a familiar voice echoed through his ears, even above the chaos that was ensuing around him. With blurry eyes he tried to see who'd commanded the guards to stop. It wasn't until a few more blinks that he recognized Krolia. She was addressing the guards, even as her gentle hands laid on Keith's face. "I told you to wait for me."

They mumbled something but Keith couldn't make it out over the noise. Instead, he forced slightly slurred words from his mouth. "Mom, what's happening?" Was this for his hearing? After all, only those under the age of 18 were allowed imprisoned. Everyone else was floated for their crimes. When someone turned 18 in the Skybox, they had a hearing to determine if they could successfully reintegrate back into the population. "I'm not eighteen yet, my hearing shouldn't be for another three months! Why is everyone getting dragged out of their cell?"

Kneeling down, she smoothed his hair from his face, the look on her own face solemn. "Keith, you're not being executed. You and the others are going to the ground."

Chills ran down his spine, numbing him. "What?"

Krolia's voice was barely above a whisper, but she might as well have been screaming into his ear. "The Ark is running out of time..."

"So Shiro was right..." Keith's chest tightened. He'd known it all along but something inside of him had always fought it, had demanded that Shiro be wrong. The Ark couldn't die, not before humanity was able to descend. But also, in trying to pretend Shiro had been incorrect, it also made Keith sick to his stomach. The man would have died for nothing. Keith didn't know which would have been better, not that it mattered now.

"I wish there was another choice. I wish the Council had acted sooner, but now you're all that we've got. You kids our are only hope." She gently kissed Keith's forehead, arms slipping around him to squeeze him tightly. "I love you, Keith. Be brave."

At that, Keith felt a pinprick at his neck and the whole world went dark.

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Control Room

Adam's hands wrangled together in knots, his eyes watching the many large monitors that sat linked together all around him. Every few seconds, one of the one hundred screens would spring to life, an image of a child from within the Skybox appearing. Beside that picture was a reading of vital signs. They were pulsing weakly for the most part. _Drugs_ , Adam thought. The guards had been instructed to dose anyone who resisted too heavily. But of course they'd resist. These teens were being dragged out of their cells and forced aboard a drop ship. No explanation, no preparation, no good-byes. Adam felt sick just thinking about it. Sometimes he missed the ignorance he'd had a year ago.

After Takashi's 'betrayal', Adam had been grilled heavily. Would he also attempt to betray the Ark? Would he follow his boyfriend's example? The obvious answer by the end of it was 'no', not that Adam didn't consider it every single day. But he couldn't let Shiro die for nothing. The man had sacrificed everything to try and warn the Ark of its impending death and in the end, it hadn't worked. Adam wasn't going to allow te Ark to die. Shiro had been sure, so sure, of the Ark's demise so Adam would make sure that, one way or another, this ship would survive.

Even if it involved sending one hundred child prisoners to the ground.

Being a member of the council now—so Alfor and the others could keep an eye on him, more than anything—Adam was able to aid in the design of this plan. He didn't fancy sending his own students to their likely deaths, but he also knew that very soon, possibly within the next couple of months, the Ark and everyone on it, would be dead anyway. He couldn't remember who'd first proposed the idea but the more they developed it and looked into it, the more likely it became.

The ground might be livable. That's what one theory was,anyway, based off of the ramblings of long-dead scientists: The radiation of space might have caused mutations within the human genome, improving the metabolism of radioactive partials. There was no way to test this theory, though, and so it floated as empty words in the back of his mind; a hollow grasp at hope for the remainder of the human race.

Snapped from his thoughts by the mechanical sliding of the doors behind him, Adam turned to see Krolia. She had as grim a look as ever. Walking over to him, she nodded towards the screen. Keith's name had come on, vitals weak but stable.

"You were able to speak with him?" Adam's eyes glanced at Krolia, who was worrying her lip raw.

"Yes, briefly. They got him linked to the system."

"I know it's hard to send him down there..."

"Unimaginably hard. I might just be sending my son to his grave."

Putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Adam sighed, "if we are, then at least we know we'll be joining him soon. If this doesn't work, if the ground isn't survivable, then we're all going to die."

Krolia's body shuddered, but she nodded. "I just wish they would have listened a year ago, before things had gotten this bad. Maybe, if Shiro was here..." He could feel her shoulder's slouch under his palm. "There's not point lingering on the past. What's done is done, for better or worse."

From behind again, the doors opened, but this time accompanied by a person responding, "Chancellor on deck." Everyone turned, eyes looking to the man who had brought them to this point. For Adam, there was disdain there. This was the man who'd killed Shiro. This was the man who may very well be responsible for the extinction of the human race.

Alfor, calm and still, nodded to the crew. "It's taken a great amount of engineering and teamwork to make this plan come to fruition. Now is the time when humanity charts its own course. Now, we return to the ground."

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 12

Cargo Bay

Keith began coming to as the loud, steady beeping began. He recognized the sound, one he'd heard countless times aboard the Ark. It was the sound of the Cargo Bay doors opening. Usually, they were opened to expel unwanted junk into space. Right now, Keith and the others were the junk.

He turned his head right and left, taking in the dark view. Others from the Skybox, they were also waking up. Each of them was strapped into a seat, buckled tight. Some of the teens began to struggle against the binds, others just sat in shock. "What's going on?" one asked, a chorus of uneasy responses following.

That's when the radio aboard the ship snapped on, static overwhelming them before Chancellor Alfor's voice came through. "This is your Chancellor speaking—" a cadence of boos, "you are about to embark on a very dangerous mission, one that is not to be taken lightly. Today, you will begin humanity's newest chapter. Today, you go to the ground."

Murmurs, but everyone kept listening. " Each of you has been outfitted with a wristband. It sends your vitals to the Ark and lets us know of your well-being."

Keith lifted his right wrist, seeing a thick, gray band there. He didn't remember having this before speaking to his mom. But looking around the room, he could see that everyone had one.

The loud beeping increased in speed, blaring in Keith's ears as Alfor continued. "If things on the ground are favorable, we of the Ark will join you." A pause. "So what's in it for you? You will be cleared of your crimes, given a clean slate. We feel it's only fair since you're risking your lives."

From somewhere beyond Keith's field of vision, a voice shouted, "not by choice!" A resounding chorus of agreement followed.

"You are tasked with preparing a campsite for the rest of the Ark. We're dropping you close to a mountain, Mt. Weather, which has a massive underground bunker. According to records, there should be military rations, farming supplies, munitions and more. It was meant to be an 'Eden' for humanity's use once we returned to the ground. Food supplies and navigation tools have been loaded aboard your ship as well."

Keith could see it now, through the darkness, boxes strapped down with nylon cords. He could barely make out Alfor's next words, the beeping of the hanger bay intensifying. "If things go well, we will be joining you soon. Take care and may we meet again."

The radio sputtered out and the final long beep of the cargo hold echoed. The massive drop ship, housing 100 juvinile criminals—and humanity's only hope—began their turbulent descent to the ground.

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

The landing had them careening through the atmosphere of the long deserted planet. Spiraling and spinning, until the sharp tug of the parachutes yanked them to stability, though they still fell quickly. Through trees and brush, the drop ship smashed into the solid earth with a thunk. Keith was jostled in his seat, seat belts biting into his shoulders and waist. For a long moment, they were all still. Waiting.

As if to signal the end, the seat belts disengaged, freeing them from their confinement. Standing, Keith rubbed at his tender shoulders, feeling the weight of the wristband again. So this was the only thing that connected them to the Ark, to their families. This was all that stood in the way of salvation for the people or destruction for humankind. His musings were interrupted by the clamoring. Others had gotten themselves out of their seats, hurried to check on their friends. Keith could see at least one of them was dead, head split open from too rough an impact with the back of his seat. How many more, he wasn't sure. But the ruckus at the drop ship door pulled him away from the death.

Keith made his way through the rows of seats, reaching the gathering crowd of teens. One, whom Keith recognized as James Griffin, was standing in front of the lever, the one that would open them to the outside. The other was someone Keith hadn't expected to see here. The daughter of the Chancellor, Allura Altea. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun, a deep blue jumper underneath her worn jacket. She looked tired, scared, but determined as she glared at Griffin. "We need to open the door."

"And when it kills us when we do? Your dad sent us down here to die!"

"No, he sent us down here to chart a course for humanity, to plant the seeds for—"

Griffin interrupted, "Right, and we're supposed to buy that crap."

"He isn't lying. Our purpose is to prepare things for the Ark's descent, so we should get moving."

Crossing his arms, Griffin growled, "I'm not letting you open up the drop ship. That door is the last thing standing between us and a very quick and painful death." Matching Allura's glare with his own, Griffin added, "Why are you even here? I didn't think daddy would want his daughter barbecued."

Irritation was starting to settle on Allura's features, visible even in the dim flood lights that basked them. "I put myself on this ship, thank you. I wanted to be of help down here." She turned to address the teens around her. "The Ark is planning to follow and they'll be expecting us to have things prepared for their landing. We need to head for Mt. Weather and begin prepping a campsite."

There was a pause, pregnant against the anxiety that was building among the one hundred. Griffin looked pointedly at Allura before turning his gaze to his peers. "We open this door, we die." A mumbling of agreement came from the crowd. Keith frowned.

He'd never really liked Griffin, though Griffin had never liked him, either. The two had a mutual hatred or each other that stemmed way back. Keith couldn't remember exactly what had gotten them on such sour terms, but here they were. And Keith never felt inclined to try and fix it.

But the truth was, the Ark needed to know it was survivable and they didn't have the supplies to last in the drop ship for a month. The way Alfor had made it sound was they'd been given enough edible supplies to help fuel them for their journey to Mt. Weather, but nothing more. Perhaps Alfor was smarter than Keith gave him credit for. Or maybe he was just cruel. Either way, they'd need to head out if they wanted to survive longer than half a week. And if they wanted the Ark to survive, too.

Shoving his way forward, he made his way behind Griffin, taking a hold of the lever in the wall before the man could spin around and say a word. Yanking it up, the drop ship's loading bay door began to rise up, while a secondary outer door began to slowly lower to the ground. If Griffin was angered by Keith's actions, he didn't have a chance to say, his eyes turning to stare at the slowly exposing world.

Keith too, watched, amazed.

As the doors finished opening, a lush wilderness came into view. Dark, sturdy trunks rose from the deep black soil, thick and vibrant leaves adorning. They were painted in reds and golds. The rich smell of earth covering their senses as the cool, brisk air brushed against their exposed skin. Keith couldn't break his eyes away from the beauty of it all. He'd seen pictures, so many pictures, of what Earth used to look like. He'd dreamed of it, too, but nothing compared to what was actually standing in front of him. Nothing compared to the smell and feel of the real surface of the earth.

Allura, standing in awe, whispered, "We're back. After nearly one thousand years, we're back."

From the crowd, a cheer came, "We're back, bitches!" The crowd of teens pushed forward, rushing the door. Keith moved with them, stepping out onto the earth's surface for the first time in his whole life. For the first time in many generations of people. It'd all been for this and he felt exhilarated. Reaching out with tentative fingers, he touched the bright crimson leaves. They felt cold and wet and yet soft and brittle. Had it just rained? The earth beneath his feet was soft and molded to each footstep he took. The light of the trickling sunlight, which was broken apart by the vast, stretching branches, warmed his pale skin. It was mesmerizing to look out along the paths of those who'd rushed forward, seeing the littering of footsteps that had been molded into the soil.

Taking a deep breath in, he felt a wild rush of excitement, cheering loudly like the others.

They'd made it. Earth was survivable.

For now.

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Control Room

The control room was in a state of barely contained chaos, though it had Krolia's head spinning. Re-entry had been successful, by all accounts, up until the transmitter from the drop ship had been destroyed in the landing. From there, their only source of information on the well being of the 100 was the signals coming from their wrist bands.

Already, there were two dead. Alfor had immediately begun questioning Krolia and the only thing she could think of was the rough landing. It made sense. They'd been buckled in but the mechanisms on board the almost one thousand year old drop ship were bound to fail in such a rough landing. Thankfully, Keith's wrist band was still broadcasting brightly.

From beside her, Adam spoke, "It looks like we're seeing a spike in all readings."

Alfor ventured, "Is it radiation?"

"I don't think so. We're not seeing any drop offs." She pondered it for a moment. "They're excited, Chancellor. That would explain the spike in their stats."

Alfor nodded, though he didn't seem wholly satisfied with the answer. "Keep me updated on any and all changes. I want to know the moment anything happens with them." He turned, heading towards the door. "I need to go spin this to our people..." Disappearing through the control room door, it slid shut with a thunk.

Adam regarded Krolia with a sideways glance. "Not sure how long people are going to believe his lie about the Skybox having 'contracted a strain of strep that needs to be contained'."

"It's not the first time in the Ark's history to have an outbreak that requires quarantine. People only need to believe it for awhile" They'd be on the ground soon enough, she hoped, and the truth of the whole story could hopefully, finally, be revealed.

"Well, signs are good so far," Adam stated, crossing his arms as he regarded the screens. "Two dead on impact, most likely, though I wish our other transmitters were working. We tried to protect them as much as possible, but I guess it wasn't enough."

Krolia could only nod. They'd given it their best, but they knew their best hope of gathering information was from the wrist bands on the children. It still made her feel sick, the idea of using children as test subjects. They didn't even get a say in being sent, they just were. Closing her eyes for a second, getting her bearings, she reminded herself of the purpose. But she couldn't help the lingering doubt. No one aboard the Ark truly knew if the ground was survivable, as the very best minds had guessed it'd take at least one thousand years for the radiation to reach livable levels again. Plus, there were signs of life. The world bled green and blue again, when in previous generations it had been spotty at best. But now, the planet looked like it had in the old space photos.

One thousand years before humanity's descent.

923 was close enough.

They hoped.

Plan B, at any rate, was much worse than the current Plan A, so Krolia could only hope for the success of the 100. Regardless, in two weeks time, they'd have their results. Radiation sickness can take as long as two weeks to kill someone, so they had to wait that long at least. Until then, it was triage on the Ark as oxygen deprivation related illness continued to skyrocket.

Her eyes flicked over to Adam, who was pinching the bridge of his nose again. He'd taken off his glasses again, sandy brown hair falling into his face as he grimaced.

"Another headache?"

He mumbled, "yah."

His symptoms had started a year ago and had only gotten worse since then. "Come on, let's get you checked out." She gently took Adam's arm, guiding him towards the door. Before he could protest about the monitors, Krolia added, "Someone will contact us the moment things change."

With that, he relented and the two headed towards the medical bay.

Krolia was the resident medic. She'd trained under her own mother in surgery and medicine. There were only a handful of doctors and she was the only surgeon. Of the almost three thousand people aboard the Ark, she was the one standing between life and death for them all. Being head of medicine had it's perks, like a council seat and an almost guaranteed assurance against being floated, but it also had it's disadvantages. She worked long hours and was pulled away from any and all occasions at a moment's notice. While she'd worked hard to train the few others doctors aboard the Ark in simple surgeries, the truth was there just wasn't enough supplies or patients to practice on. They offered her assistance during the procedures, but they were never able to take the reins from her, and that had made it difficult at times, both mentally and emotionally.

Entering the medical bay from the back, she urged Adam to take a seat on the examination table. He did so, massaging his temples as he did. "Think these pressure headaches will go away when I'm on the ground?"

Busing herself with locating her stethoscope, she replied, "I can't make any promises but it's possible, yes." Oxygen, at the very least, couldn't hurt his condition. She'd run MRI's and CAT scans on Adam's head in the year since he'd developed symptoms, and couldn't find any obvious problems. But she'd had several patients come into her clinic since then with the same symptoms. Others had intensified and worsening symptoms and some had even resulted in death. Hypoxia was starting to become a problem aboard the Ark and Alfor was determined to keep it quiet. She could only hope that they'd be on an oxygen-rich planet soon and anyone experiencing long-term symptoms would begin to find relief.

Walking over to Adam, she gave his heart and lungs a good listen before feeling along his neck and the base of his skull. Her fingers trailed up his lymph nodes, along his ears and chin, before she lifted her hands in front of Adam's eyes. "Alright, tell me what numbers you see." She began flashing her fingers along his periphery vision, Adam calling out numbers as he saw them. She began with his right eye, upper periphery.

She held a two, he responded with two. She moved to right side periphery.

She held a one, he responded with one. She moved to the left side periphery.

She held a three, he hesitated.

"Adam?"

"I," he paused, furrowing his brow, "I don't see anything."

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

Allura allowed herself only a few minutes to enjoy the newness of the world around her before she set to work searching through the supplies that had been dropped with them. A compass and map, a few packages of military rations, basic medical supplies and antibiotics, but that was it. Not enough to last even a full week with how many of them there were. The navigation supplies were more important to her, though, since they'd help lead her to Mt. Weather. Grabbing a backpack from the supplies, she stuffed it full of a few day's rations, the map and compass, too. She'd learned how to use a compass in Earth Survival class but had never actually seen one in action. Space didn't have the polar fields required to make a compass spin north. Now, though, she supposed she'd just have to apply what she'd learned and hope for the best.

The hardest part was going to be finding a team to take with her, anyway.

Exiting the drop ship, she looked at the group of teens, of unlikely explorers and adventures who'd inadvertently found themselves in a new world. They were enjoying the newness of nature, some were even starting to enjoy the newness of each other. Rolling her eyes, she called out to all of them. "We need to get going."

Some paid her mind, but most ignored her.

She huffed.

Being the daughter of the Chancellor had given her many privileges aboard the Ark and while she hadn't expected this particular group of people to pay her those respects, she'd hoped for at least a mindful ear. She hadn't even gotten that.

Stomping her way down the ramp from the drop ship, she was stopped by Keith Kogane, whom was standing at the base of the ramp, gray eyes watching her. His red leather jacket hung was as bright as the crimson leaves, denim jeans torn and worn from being passed from generation to generation. Trying to keep the irritation out of her voice, especially since Keith hadn't done anything wrong to begin with, she asked, "what is it?"

Keith shrugged, "Thought I'd come to you to sign up."

She smiled, irritation vanishing, "Really?"

"Well, we're going to starve if we don't, so it's not like we have a choice."

Allura passed him a pack, "Thanks, Keith." He nodded. She made her way to Griffin next, if only because he'd made himself something of an icon for the people with his little display of defiance. Griffin was also well respected among the delinquents, which made him someone Allura needed on her side.

He noticed her approach and smirked, "What is it, princess? Here to demand we begin our march to Mt. Weather."

"Yes and no," she stated, giving him a firm glare. "The truth is, Griffin, rather you like it or not, Mt. Weather is our key to surviving. Our current rations won't last us the week. So unless you want to die of starvation, we need to head to Mt. Weather, we need to start gathering wood for shelters and fires, we need to start building a camp."

The truth seemed to get his attention, though he rather flippantly huffed. "And since when are you in charge?"

"I'm not," Allura stated, "but I thought you were. A leader has to make tough choices, Griffin. And sometimes that means sending a bunch of lazy teenagers out on a gathering mission." She did her best to keep her tone in check. She didn't want to come off as too sarcastic, despite her desire to.

"You know, princess, you're right." He crossed his arm, "Which is why I'm putting you in charge of getting those supplies." It wasn't like she wasn't already planning on leaving. "I'll send some people with you and the rest of us will start making things more comfortable around here."

Allura found herself to be somewhat surprised by his cooperation, though she wasn't going to argue with it. "Good, I'll take whoever you can spare."

Griffin looked over his shoulder and then around the group. His eyes finally settled on a handful and he pointed. "Them. They can help you get your precious supplies."

Standing none-too-far from them were the three in question. Lance Diaz, Hunk Lefao and Katie Holt. Allura knew their crimes more than she knew them. Lance, who was wearing a brown jacket and zipper hoddie with stained jeans, had been locked away in the Skybox for stealing from her father. He'd stolen a lot more before being caught, too, all of which had been found stored in the floor of his room. Hunk, who was sporting a mustard-colored vest over a dark shirt, worn shorts beneath, had been mixing chemicals to make synthetic drugs and alcohol to sell to others for a hefty price.

Katie, for her part, was vastly different. Allura had heard rumors of her but had only seen her a handful of times. The girl beneath the floorboards. Aboard the Ark, to help control the population, families were allowed to have only one child. Katie was child number two of the Holt Family, hidden beneath the floorboards until she was eventually caught by the guards. She'd been locked away in the Skybox since then. Long hair tied back in a lopsided ponytail, she was wearing a green sweater with dark leggings and thick boots.

The three of them didn't appear particularly useful to Allura but she wasn't going to complain. If she could navigate them there, they'd just need to carry supplies back.

Walking over to them, Griffin and Keith following behind, Allura cleared her throat and spoke, "Lance, Hunk, Katie." The three turned to her, regarding her cautiously. "You're coming with me to Mt. Weather."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Welcome to chapter three! A special thanks to those who reviewed. I appreciate it :) Also a thanks to those who followed/faved. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. This chapter marks the beginning of the real conflict, so fasten your seat belts.

Enjoy!

* * *

"During the Third World War, before M.A.D could come to it's head, countries worked together to create several bunkers, each code-named 'Eden'. The intent was to create a starting point for humanity after the nuclear fallout had cleared and the ground was livable again. It's also a vain attempt at trying to assure that, in some small way, we make amends to our posterity for the mistakes we've made. It's our fault, after all, that these Edens are even needed. If we had tried harder sooner, perhaps we wouldn't be preparing for this impending doom. Perhaps we'd be looking back at a time, much like the old Cold War, wiping our brows and thanking the ancestors for their cool heads and even tempers."

Excerpt from Earth's Survival, by Tom Handson, AE 8

* * *

The 100

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

Keith's feet were already aching as they began their lengthy journey. They'd dismissed themselves, after some reluctance from the three tag-alongs, and had followed the map and compass in the direction of Mt. Weather. They could only guess at how long it was going to take to get there, but Keith assumed it'd take a least the rest of the day.

Day. That was a weird concept.

Being aboard the Ark, time passed in a sort of clunky, immeasurable way. Time was incredibly relative and seemed to be based off the old system of time that was used when the sun and moon cycled around humanity. Now, standing on the surface of the earth, seeing the sunlight shimmering through the golden leaves overhead, Keith understood what 'day' actually was.

From behind them, Lance chirped his disapproval again. "We sure we need these supplies that badly. Didn't we take that 'earth survival' class and learn about berries and stuff?" He trudged the furthest behind, had complained about his feet hurting the most and had made it incredibly known that he disliked being forced to trek into the wilderness. Keith could only sigh heavily.

"If you want to forage for berries, be my guest. But there's a bunker with perfectly good supplies. And I don't know about you, but that sounds better than irradiated berries."

Hunk spoke then, "They shouldn't be irradiated. Or at least, not anymore. I mean, if we can breath down here, the levels of radiation within other things, like soil and plants and water, would have to be at a low enough level, too, since those things help compose the atmosphere—"

"Boring!" Lance put his arms behind his head. "Look, how much further is this Mt. Weather, anyway?"

Allura pulled out her map again, looking half-irritated. Unfolding it, she examined it yet again, Lance jogging to catch up and look over her shoulder. "We landed around here," her finger poked at the location of the drop ship. "According to the Map, Mt. Weather is over here." She poked it again, Lance visibly deflating.

"So, like, an eternity."

Allura nodded, "yes, an eternity. I'm guessing if we keep a good pace, we can reach the bunker by nightfall, rest there and then head back to the camp at first light."

Rolling his eyes, Lance growled under his breath, "wow, such a great start to our vacation."

They walked in silence from there, which Keith was grateful for. Of all the people he was traveling with, Katie had been the most pleasant. But that was probably because she hadn't said a word since they'd departed. Her eyes were examining the terrain, the foliage, everything. The massive forest they found themselves in was captivating her. Keith was also mesmerized by the nature around him. It was crazy just how breathtaking it all was. And with each sound that graced him, he felt both startled and excited. So when a rushing sound came, something like the engines of the Ark, they all froze, looking around.

"What...is that?" Allura squinted, trying to focus beyond the trees.

Keith tried to zero in on where it was coming from and then, he followed the sound. He ignored the calls from behind him, urging him to stay put. Whatever this noise was, it couldn't be a ship. But what it was, he didn't know. Breaking into a jog as he reached a mild hill, he gasped as he crested and saw what stood on the other side.

A massive river, water as blue as the sky, snaking from one end of the horizon to the other. "Guys!" Keith called back, "You've got to see this!" And when the others did manage to catch up, they were just as awe-struck.

The mist spraying from the crashing waves hit Keith, chilling him in a delightful way. A river, like he'd seen in pictures, but far more grand. So loud, too.

Allura was the first to break them from their traces, "We can't cross here, the water's moving to fast. We need to move downstream to find a better crossing point." It took a moment for any of them to acknowledge, but finally Keith nodded.

"Right, let's get going."

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Control Room

Adam stared absently at the monitors, brain buzzing in the back of his skull as he tried desperately to focus on the screens in front of him. He tried not to think of the medical station, of what had happened there. He had work to do, after all, and he wasn't going to let anything prevent him from fulfilling what Shiro had sought to do from the beginning—save the Ark.

His hands typed away at the keyboard, eyes darting between the vitals of each individual child. The system was programmed to log updates every minute, compiling mountains of data. But it was needed, if they were going to monitor the survival rate of earth. Even more so, it was needed to keep him busy. Burying himself in his work was the only thing that could distract him from the intrusive thoughts, from Krolia's concerned look and cryptic words. Pinching the bridge of his nose again, he tried to ward off a headache. "Damn."

The monitors beeped, drawing his eyes immediately. One more was dead, followed by another and another. Their stats were fine but then jumped to threatening levels before everything went still and the screen went dark. "The hell?" That wasn't what he'd predicted radiation would look like. No, they'd see a steady, albeit fast, climb in stats before the termination of the square. Unless, of course, the radiation was that potent.

"Get Krolia and Alfor in here, now!"

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

It took more time than Keith had hoped to find a path in which the river thinned out enough for them to cross safely. Keith had gone first, slipping off his shoes and rolling up his pant legs before taking his first step in the water. It was cold, frigid, like it felt when the heaters aboard the Ark stopped working. But somehow, this cold was even worse, sharp almost. Careful to keep his balance, though, Keith ventured one step at a time across the river. Rocks slipped under his feet several times, nearly causing him to fall, but he managed to stay upright. And as the current tickled his feet, little shimmery fish scurried past him. He looked down in awe for a moment, captivated by the tiny creatures, before continuing on.

Once on the other side, he sat on the grass and wiggled his toes, wrapping his hands around them in an attempt to warm them. Shouting across, he warned, "It's very cold!"

Allura furrowed her brow, "that doesn't sound pleasant."

"Well," came Lance, "Lady's first." Allura set an annoyed glance his way before pulling off her thick boots and cuffing up the legs of her jumper. She following after Keith, mimicking his path across, careful on the slick rocks.

Keith watched from the other side, grinning at the cheering Hunk and Lance were doing from the other side of the bank. Allura didn't look pleased to have the encouragement. Katie was even smiling.

And then Keith heard something. Or had he? Up in the trees? His eyes darted up, examining the branches and foliage. It'd sounded like a branch snapping, sort of like when they'd pushed branches away to make space to walk. But nothing was there.

"Keith?" Allura's voice. He turned to regard her, seeing that she'd successfully made her way across the river. "What is it?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. Just thought I heard something..."

Sitting, Allura worked on warming up her own feet before speaking. "This place sounds very different from back home. We're all a little jumpy." She was right, of course. None of them had heard nature sounds. Perhaps he was just on edge from it all, though the sinking in his stomach said otherwise.

Pushing himself to his feet, he tried to ease his own mind and watched the other three cross the river.

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Control Room

Krolia examined the stats the computer had recorded prior to the deaths of one James Griffin, Nadia Rizavi and Ina Leifsdottir. That stats were consistent with Adam's story, but she had him recount it anyway. "And you're sure they experienced heightened stats prior to termination."

"Yes," Adam nodded, "it was quick but it was there."

"Can you say what it was?" Alfor's concern was palpable. "Do you know what caused them to die?"

Adam shook his head, "The stats didn't climb like we'd expected with radiation sickness, however, it's possible, if the levels of radiation climbed fast enough, that we'd see an almost instantaneous death like this."

Alfor's face grew taunt, grim. "What can we expect to see if it is, indeed, radiation."

"More," Krolia said. "More will follow."

Taking a deep breath in, Alfor nodded. "We knew the risks of this plan when we designed it, when we sent those children to the ground. All we can do is watch and wait. Hopefully there is another explanation but until then, keep watch." Alfor made to leave the room, Krolia watching him go.

She looked back at Keith's square, his vitals beating strongly. She longed to be with him, to hold him and protect him. Whatever was going on down there, whatever hell they'd sent these children into, she could only pray that Keith was strong enough to survive it.

"I'll be there, soon, Keith."

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

The sun had begun melting into the mountain range then, disappearing behind black peaks, when the team had finally stumbled upon an old sign. It was rot with rust, the words long since erased from its surface, but Allura's face lit up when they stopped to look at the map. "This is it, this sign is supposed to be a marker for the beginning of Mt. Weather." They broke into cheers, grinning and laughing. All that was left was to find the entrance to the bunker, which according to Allura's map, was not too far from their location.

She put the map back in her bag and continued forward, the others following. Hunk spoke as he stretched his neck, "I cannot wait to get there. Some sleep is going to do wonders for my poor feet."

"You got that right!" Lance chimed back.

Spirits were much improved as they hiked up the mountain, careful with their footing and making light conversation. Keith kept quiet, though, listening too the forest around them. A couple of other times on their way to the mountain, Keith had heard the snapping of branches in the trees. Others seemed to have heard it too, but mostly ignored it. Animals, is what everyone's common answer was, but Keith's nerves were on fire. Whatever it was, it was stalking them, and the thought of some wild creature hunting them made him anxious. Bears climbed in trees, that much he knew. Was this part of the world known for having bears? Was that information even accurate anymore?

That's when Keith spotted something in the distance and urged the group to pause. Lance showed visible irritation at this but Keith shushed him. "Don't you see that?" Heading towards what he was seeing, Keith only stopped once his mind could make sense of what he'd stumbled across. He felt his blood run colder than the river's water as he stared at what stood in front of him, barely hidden with brush.

Bones.

Lots of them.

They were tied to the tree trunks with vines, strung up between branches like decoration. Animal skulls rattled in the mid-autumn breeze, clicking absently together in a sort of eerie melody. Beyond the strug bones was a cave, dark and mossy, whose entrance was clear of brush. A home, but for what, they didn't know. It was Katie who broke the silence, who hadn't spoken once since beginning their journey to Mt. Weather, "Guys, I don't think an animal did this..."

The snapping of branches had them all flinching, all looking around, just in time to see Lance's body go limp, an arrow wedged deep within his chest. Immediately, they all dove for hiding places, somewhere, anywhere that would provide cover. Allura reached out from the tree she'd scurried behind, grabbing ahold of Lance's wrist. With a determined tug, she drug Lance's body closer to her, his groaning echoing through the trees around them. "He's alive!" She tugged again, stomach churning at the crimson train he was leaving behind.

Another arrow came, this one lodging itself in Allura's forearm. With a scream, she pulled away, cradling her wound while biting back the agony that welled in her lungs.

"What the hell is happening!?" Hunk shouted from his own tree, "I thought the Ark was the last of humanity!"

Calling from her own location, Katie shouted, "Maybe this is some sort of mutated big foot!"

More arrows, burrowing deep into the trees they found themselves behind. "Great," Keith growled, "mutant Sasquatch." Another set of arrows, Keith hissing as one nicked his arm. Quickly, he aligned himself with his cover. They couldn't stay where they were but they couldn't leave, either. From his vantage point, he could only make out Allura and Lance's position, if Lance's limp body laying on the earth could be called a position. Any chance of Lance surviving was slipping through their fingers. "We have to do something!"

And then there was a crack, loud and booming, monstrous, as if something were tearing through the sky. Bright daggers of light sliced open the evening as dark, billowing clouds bubbled from the horizon. A loud horn sounded, Keith covering his ears, and the branches in the trees above them snapped and popped as whatever had attacked them scurried away. The wind, which had been a calm breeze, began to whip around them, the skulls and bones clattering together in a chaotic symphony.

"I don't like this," Hunk said, carefully emerging from cover.

"Neither did big foot," Katie stated, rushing over to Lance. She looked at his injury, the blood pooling around the arrow and drizzling down his shirt and jacket. "We should go. Now."

Keith rushed over, working on picking Lance up as carefully as he could, Hunk offering his own support. As he did, the wind picked up even more, the sky gave a guttural roar and brilliant streaks ripped across the sky. From the direction of the building storm, they could hear heavy rainfall as an acrylic stench filled the air.

Allura stood, gripping her arm tightly. "What is that?"

"We should run," Keith said, he and Hunk finally getting Lance situated between them, his arms draped over their shoulders while his feet drug across the ground. Once Lance was secured, they began hoofing it down the mountain, away from the growing storm. The acrylic stench only grew thicker, like something was burning, and the wind swirled around them so strongly, Keith thought it would sweep them off their feet. At the base of the mountain, they jumbled over the sign and made their way to the river.

"There's no way we can outrun this storm!" Allura shouted, more thunder growling overhead.

Hunk countered, "I don't think there's another choice!"

That's when Katie chirped in, "Over there!" It was to their side, far into the trees, a dark oval that disappeared into nothing within the side of a large hill. Perhaps it was a cave. Perhaps it wasn't. If it was, they may be able to wait out this massive storm. If it wasn't, they'd burn precious seconds of time and possibly be caught in whatever the black, blistering clouds had wrought into this world. Keith felt like time froze for a moment as he weighed the options. Allura was right. They couldn't outrun it. Once they hit the river, they'd have to cross it and it was hard enough to cross alone, let alone when he and Hunk were carrying an unconscious Lance. But the drop ship was the only place they could hope to find first aid supplies, which meant it was Lance's biggest hope of survival.

Gritting his teeth, Keith shouted, "Let's check it out!"

Diverting course, they hurried towards the dark mass on the side of the hill, feet carrying them as fast as possible. Another cadence of thunder, like the roar of a lion overhead and the flickering of lightning tearing apart the sky. The pounding of rain was closing in, as well as the stench of burning, acrylic heat.

As they pushed forward into the darkness of the hill, the rain slammed into the trees and brush, splattering wildly. Diving, they found themselves at the entrance of a cave and eagerly they crawled inside.

* * *

Day 337,119, AE 923

Earth, Cave

Northeastern United States

The rain stank of acid, though looking through the mouth of the cave, they saw no erosion on the plants or earth. The ground greedily lick up every droplet, despite the stench. Katie just sat and watched it come down, furrowing her brow. "I've never heard of a storm forming that fast."

"That's nice, Katie, but we could use some help." Keith called from deeper within the cave.

Hunk had managed to create a small fire using matches and some of the trash from their rations. Lance was laying next to it, ashen, breath panting. Shuffling back towards them, Katie knelt down beside Lance, looking between Hunk and Keith. "How's he doing?"

"Not good," Keith admitted. He'd removed his own jacket, bunching it up at the source of the bleeding and had been working to apply steady pressure. "We could remove the arrow and sear the wound shut, like they taught us in 'earth survival' but removing the arrow will make him bleed to death."

Katie's mouth fell into a line, lips pressing together. She'd spent a lot of time reading underneath the floor of her family's home and she'd learned a lot at that time. All of that knowledge felt useless in this very moment, when she needed it most. Trying to force her mind to think through the medical and biology books she'd absorbed in her years, she was coming up empty. Cauterizing the wound was their best option. It'd stop the bleeding and buy Lance more time. Katie examined him closely, seeing the sweat building on his forehead as he gave a breathy groan. The wound, though poorly packed and treated, was receiving pressure and it seemed to be slowing the bleeding quiet a bit. Lance had also been struck in the sternum, which Katie knew could be a good thing—possibly. The thick bone there might have helped prevent the arrow from going too deep and it didn't look to be in-line with his lungs, stomach or heart.

If they kept him like he was, he might survive the storm, but when they went to move him again, it was likely the bleeding would start all over again. They needed to know if there was internal bleeding. "Get him on his side," Katie stated. The two didn't ask why, simply following direction. Carefully, Lance was moved to his side, his groaning intensifying. Once he was situated, Katie pulled his shirt up, looking at his back.

Good, no bruising or discoloration. The arrow hadn't cut something important—yet.

"If we're careful, we can remove the arrow and seal the wound. It's about as good as he's going to get down here." Katie finally responded.

Swallowing hard, Keith frowned, "We'd have to stab it back in, right? Too seal up the bleeding on the inside?"

Katie nodded, feeling her own hands begin to tremble. "We're just going to have to be faster than his bleeding."

A long beat of silence passed, the tension thicker than the acidic stench in the air. Allura, who'd been sitting to the side, cradling her own wound, shuffled forward, gaze hardened. "One of us will remove the arrow, heat it and cauterize the wound, the others will hold him down." The others gave her a tight nod. They were all terrified, unsure of what had happened out there and now, they were doing rudimentary surgery on a wound that shouldn't be possible down here. Taking a deep breath, Allura positioned herself at one side, careful with her injured arm.

Everyone looked between each other for a second, Katie finally swallowing and speaking up. "I'll cauterize." Both Hunk and Keith moved into position, Hunk flattening himself on Lance's legs while Keith took his arms. Allura positioned herself on the opposite side of Katie, pressing down on his torso.

Sweaty, trembling palms were wiped on her pant legs as she carefully removed Keith's coat from the wound. The blood was beginning to pool quickly again. Mentally, she hardened herself. She didn't have time to be scared. Getting a tight grip on the arrow, she whispered an apology before tugging it free. It was more difficult than she'd imagined and the ungodly whimpers and shouts from Lance's mouth made it even worse. His body contorted, the others pinning him down with all of their might. As the tip of the arrow came free, blood began spilling from the wound. "Someone put pressure on it!"

"Right!" Allura maneuvered, still trying to keep Lance's left side from jerking, pressing the jacket back against the wound. Leaning in, she grunted as Lance pushed back, trying to be free of them. "I'm sorry, Lance, just hold on!"

Katie held the tip over the fire, arrow shaking wildly. _Not too hot_ , she reminded herself. If it was glowing orange, she'd have it too hot and would have to wait to cool it down. She didn't have that kind of time. It felt like hours, though, waiting for it to heat up and finally, when she deemed it done to the best of her abilities, she removed it from the flame. Allura had only seconds to react, jerking back, jacket in hand, as Katie drove the hot tip into Lance's chest. Lance wailed, trying to kick himself free, body twisting underneath the weight of Hunk, Keith and Allura.

Gritting her teeth, Katie pulled it free and Lance fell limp, breathing heavy and body drenched in sweat.

Moments passed. Then minutes. Lance's breath eventually settled into an unsteady pattern and the three finally picked themselves up from their position.

Katie let out a long breath, one she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "First surgery on the ground in nearly one thousand years..."

"Yah, and it might be the last surgery." Keith wiped the accumulating sweat from his brow, sucking in a cool breath. "Whatever shot Lance, it knew what it was doing and it's got some deadly aim." They were silent, listening to the crackle of the fire and Lance's shallow breaths. Keith sighed, "humanity finally gets back to the ground after almost one thousand years, only to be picked off by some mutant big foot."

Hunk shivered, "You don't think it's actually a big foot, do you? God, that's be scary. Just imagine a giant 10-feet tall monster, all covered in hair..." Hunk shook his head, "you don't think it eats meat, do you? Human meat? Was it trying to make some lunch meat out of us?"

Allura put her good hand on Hunk's shoulder. "Whatever it was, the storm scared it away. Hopefully we can get back to the drop ship without incident once the weather has cleared." Hunk gave a weak nod and Allura returned a soft smile.

"Regardless," Katie said, scooting back from Lance to lean against the cave walls, "Big foot didn't like us getting close to Mt. Weather. It's going to make getting those supplies even more difficult."

A sigh escaped Keith's lips as he stared into the fire. "We'll worry about that after we get Lance back to the drop ship." And that ended the conversation, the group sitting and listening to the sounds of rain and fire.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Welcome back to the 100! Thanks for your patience last week and I hope you enjoy the chapter. I had the best dream last night, by the way. I had a dream that Dreamworks made a season 9 of Voltron and fixed all things they ruined in season 8. Ah, what a dream *sighs* maybe someday, ya? I will eventually start working on a fix-it fic in the future, but this one takes priority right now.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or faved. Knowing I've got people out there eager to read more motivates me through the writers block. So thanks!

Enjoy!

* * *

"The Arks were built to last for one thousand years, according to top engineers and scientists of the time. But the truth is, there's no way to attest to that level of longevity. Nothing this high-tech and life supporting that had been built on earth had lasted even a quarter of that time. And don't forget that humanity had never spent any significant amount of time in space. Save the International Space Station, humankind had spent its entire existence almost exclusively on the ground, meaning that even the very best astronomers and engineers and scientists could not even begin to guess at the types of trials these Arks would face in their one thousand year life-span. The simple fact is, it's impossible to know how long these Arks will last or how catastrophic their failure will be to the human race."

Excerpt from the diary of Chancellor Rory Blake, AE 33

* * *

The 100

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

Day 337,120, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

The storm lasted through the evening, finally sputtering out as the sun crested the horizon. Keith, like the others, got little sleep through the night. Every noise, every moan and hitch in Lance's breathing, every creak and groan from the woods outside, pulled them from any light sleep they could manage. Sitting up from his place beside the now extinguished fire, Keith examined the blooming morning, sunlight peaking in through the mouth of the cave.

Standing, he carefully approached, listening for the sounds they'd heard prior to being attacked. Nothing but the soft twitter of birds somewhere in the distance. That and the occasional drip-drip-drip of the lingering droplets of rain as they tumbled from the branches and to the ground.

Looking back at them, their eyes open but bodies still, Keith urged, "It's stopped. Let's go."

With only mild grumbling, the group saddled Lance to Hunk's back, using a backpack, straps loosened greatly, to keep Lance pressed firmly against Hunk. Lance groaned as he was moved but didn't awaken. Looking at him, Lance still looked pale but some color had come back to his cheeks. The faster they could get back to the drop ship, the better. They also needed to warn the others about the mutant in the woods.

Without delay, they set out, hurrying as fast as they could towards the river. Each step in the wet earth saw their feet sink a little, just like it had the day prior. Keith had to wonder if those kind of freak storms were common. If so, they'd need to rethink any gardens they planted since the wind and rain would wash away any crops that weren't firmly rooted. Not that they had seeds since they were unable to reach the bunker. He bit his lip, fighting back the frustration. For now, he just needed to focus on Lance.

When they reached the river, crossing it was even more dangerous than before. The water had risen considerably after the rainfall and they found themselves venturing further downstream to find a more passable spot. Once they did, it was slow going across the water, Allura, Keith and Katie circling Hunk to help him stay on his feet with all the extra dead weight he was carrying.

Then, it was back to their quickened pace, eager to reach the drop ship.

It wasn't long from there, Allura using the compass and map to navigate them back to their camp.

Keith's mind was whirling, spinning as wildly as the storm. Lance would need immediate medical attention, but none of them were doctors. They needed Krolia but she was miles and miles away, aboard a dying ship. His body began to shake, his fear building. What if coming down here had been a mistake all along?

That's when Katie called out, smiling for the first time, "I can see the drop ship through the trees!"

Inspired, they quickened their pace.

As the reached the drop ship, Keith was amazed at the work that'd been done. Griffin had indeed held up on his side of the bargain. Supplies had been off loaded, make shift tents scattered around a small clearing, which teens were actively working on enlarging by pulling brush and small plants from the ground. The drop ship's entrance had a large tarp hanging in front of it, a temporary base of operations. It was better than Keith had thought possible of Griffin and he had to admit, the man had surprised him.

Hurrying forward, though, pushing his amazement to the back of his mind, Keith shouted. "Hey, we need medical attention, stat!"

A young blonde woman, hair cut into a bob, looked up from her work setting a tent. Ina Leifsdottir was not known for her small talk or her pleasantries. She was curt and matter-of-fact. She blinked a few times, freckled face neutral, as she regarded Keith. "What happened?" As the others reached Keith's position, Leifsdottir's eyes widened. There, draped like a sack of flour, was Lance. She didn't bother asking any more questions and instead took off, hurrying towards the drop ship.

The man whom had been helping her hurried over, aiding Hunk in getting Lance off his back. Pulling a tarp free from its loose hold as one of the sides of a tent, Lance was laid out on the makeshift stretcher.

Hunk gave a panicked and nervous laugh, "He's gonna be ok, right?"

Leifsdottir returned shortly, a gathering of teens at her side. "Get a few one each side. Let's get in him into the ship." There was no arguing, no questions. Lifting at once, Lance was held off the ground and carried like a coffin to the drop ship. By now, the rest of the 100 had stopped what they were doing and had gathered, watching Lance be carted away. The concern and confusion was palpable, thicker than the after smell of rain.

Exchanging glances, Keith headed towards the drop ship as well. The Mt. Weather team followed.

Once inside, he could see the changes that'd been made. The seats had been unhinged, the metal and cushions being scrapped and re-purposed. It made a large, open space, one that was only interrupted by the cots laid out on the floor. And now Lance.

He was hoisted onto a hastily constructed table, one that was comprised of two empty cargo boxes and a large sheet of scrap. He was groaning loudly at the disturbance, eyes still screwed tightly shut. A young woman wormed her way over to him, pushing past the other teens. She pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail, hard eyes landing on the wound that sat in Lance's chest. Nadia Rizavi looked at the team, her gaze pointed. "What happened to him?"

They all glanced between themselves, stunned into silence for a moment. Keith felt his mouth go dry, unsure of exactly how to word what they'd just experienced. And the gathering crowd of teens wasn't helping either. There was some shuffling, those with any medical knowledge coming forward to help without so much as an ask, but the rest stood frozen, confused. They wanted answers. Taking a deep breath, Keith knew he had to give them that much.

"We..." the anticipation was making his palms sweat. "We were attacked by something...out in the woods."

Nothing. No reaction. Then finally, whispers.

Rizavi was the first to speak. "Attacked? Was it an animal?"

Keith shook his head slowly, the anxiety pulsing like a heartbeat through all of them, even through him.

"Then what...?" she looked down at Lance, looked more closely at the bloody hole in his shirt. Carefully, she pulled his shirt up, the dried blood making the fabric stick to his skin. There, Rizavi could see the scar, poorly sealed with a sloppy burn that seemed to pierce his very core. "What attacked him...?"

Allura spoke this time, approaching Lance before gently pushing his sweaty bangs from his face. "We don't really know..." she held up her arm, showed the still embedded arrow within. She'd snapped the end off, made it easier on herself in traveling, but she hadn't removed it yet, hadn't dared. "Whatever it is, it has weapons and it has good aim."

Like the deadest of winter had settled within the drop ship, a chill ran down the spines of everyone there. All of them stared at Allura and Lance, both wounded by something wild within the woods they now found themselves trapped in.

* * *

Day 337,120, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Council Chambers

Alfor sat with his hands twisted in knots. He was waiting for the council members to arrive, to explain to them what had happened with the 100 since their departure some 24 hours ago. How he wished he had better news.

Five dead so far, two from impact—or at least that was the official cause—and three dead from unknown causes.

And his daughter was still missing on top of it.

Allura had never come home that evening, when the lights aboard the Ark dimmed to barely light to simulate the night sky. It was the only thing keeping the human race on routine and it was also the only thing signaling to unruly teens that curfew had begun. Allura wasn't one to break the rules and, in all her years, had never been late for a curfew. Sure, she'd cut it close a couple of times, but always for innocent reasons—usually because she'd been too busy chatting with her friends and hadn't kept track of the time. He never scolded her for it, though, because she was responsible.

But last night was a different story.

He searched their entire quarter, from top to bottom. He even called her friends' residence, seeing if perhaps she'd decided to engage in a last minute sleep over. But no one had seen her. In fact, no one could recall seeing her all day. Alfor knew he'd seen her that morning because they'd talked over breakfast as they always did. She'd seemed fine. Normal.

Except for that they argued.

She'd caught on to what he and the council were planning to do with the children in the Skybox. She'd disagreed with it, implored him to find a different way to test the viability of the ground. But the truth was they were out of options. They'd already tried everything else, even firing the old probes—which had been stowed aboard the Ark for that very purpose—but they broke apart in atmosphere or were too heavily damaged upon impact to give any readings.

But Allura had insisted. Sending 100 children to their inevitable demise was immoral.

Not like Alfor didn't know that. He'd have to carry the souls of every dead child in his heart. Every life that was lost on Earth, he'd bare for the rest of his days. Just like he did the many others he'd floated since becoming chancellor.

Their argument had ended with Allura refusing to talk to him for the rest of breakfast and with her quietly leaving to go about her day.

She'd been mad but surly not so mad as to not come home.

But she hadn't come home.

And now he was worried.

That, on top of the 100 and their uncertain fate, had him restless.

Stepping into the conference room, though, were the familiar faces of the councilors. Each Ark Substation had a designated councilor, one who represented that Subsection's chief needs. The chancellor sat atop them, upholding the law.

Taking a seat at the table, Adam looked exhausted and frazzled. He was slouched against the table, so worn and old. Alfor had to wonder if Shiro's death had made him this way or if it'd been the following year that had.

Slipping in beside him was Krolia, followed by many others. They all sat, pensive, eyes on Alfor as they waited in uneasy silence for him to speak. They'd all signed on for this, each one of them penning their signature onto the data log that would send 100 children to their possible deaths. And now they were waiting for the news.

He wished he didn't have to deliver it.

"I'll spare the pleasentries and get down to buisness. Five are confirmed dead. Two on impact and three...three have unknown causes of death."

Sanda's voice was sharp, brow cinched tight. "Unknown?"

It was Krolia who spoke up, her voice more kind but no less hardened. "We can't confirm its radiation. All we know is their vitals spiked and then their wrist bands stopped broadcasting."

Iverson, an older man with only one good eye, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Reserved but still determined, he regarded Krolia, "what else could it be?"

She shook her head. "If we had that kind of answer, we wouldn't have it labeled 'unknown'. All we can say is it doesn't match our projections of what radiation would look like with these stats. We should see a steady increase in things like heart rate and blood pressure and a steady decrease in things like oxygen levels. That would all coincide with the eventual end of transmission. But we haven't seen that yet."

Alfor added, "If these numbers maintain and we don't start losing more kids, we should be able to prepare the Ark for descent in the next two weeks."

"And what about the people aboard the Ark right now? We're expected to cross our fingers and wait for two more weeks?" Sanda leaned forward, elbows crushing into the table. "The oxygen scrubbers are already at 30%. They can't tolerate much more."

There were a few solemn nods at the table. Sanda was right, but Alfor wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing it. "They'll last two more weeks. We can't head down premature. Radiation sickness can take up to two weeks to manifest, so all we can do is wait."

This didn't seem to content Sanda, whom leveled a cold, hard glare at Alfor. "We've talked about other options, ones that will help lessen the load on the scrubbers, buy us more time." The room stilled even more and all eyes went between Sanda and Alfor.

It took Alfor's whole being not to raise his voice. Sanda wanted a battle of the wills but Alfor wasn't willing to oblige. Instead, he simply shook his head. "That you'd even suggest such a thing is horrific, Sanda. We will wait for more information from the ground. Until then, we maintain that there's been a viral outbreak in the Skybox and that, until further notice, no one is allowed to have contact with the kids. This, while we wait for more news from the ground. That should keep the peace, for now."

With that, the discussion was over, and the councilors went back to their lives as if nothing had changed. Alfor, though, waited until everyone had left before leaving himself, his entire being numb. Never, in his wildest dreams, had he imagined he'd be chancellor during humanity's most pressing moment, their most defining moment. He'd never imagined that he'd have to make such horrible decisions.

To ease his mind, he decided to go about the Ark in hopes of locating Allura. Surely she'd disappeared to a friends house, had stowed away from the parent's gaze to hide out with her friends. She was still just angry at him and nothing more.

Surely, she was safe and sound.

* * *

Day 337,120, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

Allura sat at the side of the drop ship, absently caressing the scratchy gauze that encased her arm. It'd been wound tight after being rinsed as thoroughly as possible. The arrowhead, which they'd extracted, had been sharpened to a fine point and was thin but long, perfect for punching holes through cavities. The very thought made Allura ill.

She'd dismissed herself to get some fresh air once they were done, but it wasn't helping much. She watched the other teens work, their demeanor different from when they'd first landed. Now, no one was joking, no one was laughing. And instead of building housing, they built walls. Barriers. And even as the sky warned of encroaching night, the teens kept working diligently.

Leaning her head back, she tried to close her mind and will herself back to the Ark—if only for a mental break. Back to when things were easy, when things weren't so pressing or stressful. Back before she knew of her father's plan to send one hundred teens to their very likely death, before she'd learned the Ark was dying.

This was their only chance—humanity's only chance—and now some monster that lurked in the shadows of the woods was standing in the way of that.

Already, people were talking. It was whispers, but it was there. Mutant Bigfoot had become a popular theory, though some speculated it was deranged Arkers who'd tried to commit suicide by earth, only to have the radiation eat away their brains and make them into monsters. Others still thought it was some kind of animal—mutated into a monster, but an animal. Allura wasn't sure which sounded more likely.

From beside her came a hesitant voice, one she wasn't used to hearing so quietly. "Can I sit?"

She opened her eyes, looking up at the face of one James Griffin. He was scratching absently at the wristband on his arm, his eyes cast to the treeline.

"Sure," she said, relenting just a little. She'd seen the way Griffin had reacted to the news, his jaw going slack and eyes buggy. Like the rest of them, the prospect of a monster in the woods was unexpected.

He slid down the side of the drop ship, landing beside her softly. "They said Lance is gonna be ok—they think."

A tension left Allura that she hadn't even realized was there. "That's good news."

"You guys saved his life..." Griffin looked down at his wrist band, fiddling with it, "you could have left him and saved yourselves, but you didn't. He's got one hell of a debt to repay once he's awake."

Smiling lightly, Allura shrugged, "I'd hope we'd all do the same for everyone here. We're a team, rather we want to be or not."

Giving a shrug of his own, Griffin added, "I guess so..."

Sitting in silence for a long moment, Allura finally got curious. Griffin had been messing with his wrist band since walking over here. "What's wrong?" She gestured to his right wrist. His fingers worked over the top of the sleek metal before dropping to his skin to continue scratching.

"Not sure. Just itches. Feels like a rash or something. Maybe this thing's just on to tight."

waving her fingers, Griffin complied, moving his wrist to her lap. Allura carefully manipulated his wrist in her hands, twisting it to and from. The wrist band seemed loose enough, though snug, but as she angled his wrist back, Allura spotted red, irritated skin. "It looks like something is under there..." Holding it closer, she furrowed her brow, trying to make heads or tails of what she was looking at. It looked more angry and irritated with Griffin's constant scratching, but there was indeed something there. It almost looked like...

"No," she shook her head, "that can't be right?"

"What?" Griffin's voice was laced with concern. "What is it?"

"It looks like...a burn..." But that wasn't possible. It wasn't like he'd been putting his wrist in fire and, despite that, the rest of his hand and arm looked fine.

"A burn...?" leaning in and narrowing his eyes, he tried to see what she was seeing. And there, though hard to spot, was the bubbled, red skin of a burn. "Where the hell did that come from?"

And that's when a dark thought occurred to her and Allura felt her whole body go numb. She couldn't be right, could she? Standing, she yanked Griffin up with her, and went to find Hunk. The man knew a thing or two about machines, that much was evident from how well he did in shop class. He wasn't hard to spot, either, his strong arms aiding in holding timber in place as the other side was lifted and secured. "Hunk," Allura called.

The man turned, blinking. "Yah, what's up?"

Approaching him while also trying to stay out of the way, Allura held Griffin's wrist to Hunk's face. Backing his head up slightly, Hunk crinkled his brow. "Take a look," she said matter-of-fact. Hunk looked mildly torn between continuing to stand and support the beam that was still being slowly wedged into place and complying with Allura's request.

After a moment, Hunk called to some of the other guys, "hey, can one of you hold this for a sec?" When Hunk was relieved, he stepped away, taking Griffin's wrist. "What am I looking at exact—" His eyes squinted, nose wrinkling. Allura and Griffin waited as Hunk turned Griffin's wirst this way and that a couple of times. "That looks like a burn...which could only mean..." Concern was present.

Allura finally spoke, "could only mean what, Hunk?"

"That the wristband...it's fried. It shorted, which is what caused the burn to your skin. It's not transmitting anymore." His face was grim. "James, the Ark thinks your dead."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Here's chapter 5! It's been a very hectic past couple of weeks and only now did I have time to finish this chapter up, edit it and post it-and that's only because I ended up badly spraining my ankle so I've been unable to work for the past week. Speaking of editing, I've done my best but it's been hard to focus because I'm on some pretty heavy pain meds, so please let me know if you find anything glaringly obvious. Regardless, I was able to post (finally)! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! And thank you so much for the reviews and faves. Knowing there are fans out there waiting for more motivates me in times like these.

Enjoy!

* * *

"There are some, like on Ark 13, who think that human survival after MAD is possible. Some of them even theorize that the human genome may be able to tolerate heightened radiation levels on a patient by patient basis. It's already been proven, after all, that different people have different thresholds for radiation poisoning. Ark 13's theory, though, sounds more like fantasy, with a sort of 'master race' that would be able to metabolize the radiation fast enough to survive on earth even after the bombs. Of course, the truth is, humankind is simply not suited for the hostility of such a world. Vegetation, animals, even water, would all be difficult to find, if not impossible. The surface's temperature would be so in-flux that the extreme heat and cold would not be survivable. Not only that, but the very geography of the world has changed, sometimes within the course of days. IF anyone survived the blasts—and that's a massive, gigantic IF—the inhospitable surface of the earth would have killed them."

Excerpt from a Scientific Journal by Scientist Castor Montilla, AE 109

* * *

The 100

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

Day 337,121, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

Hunk had fiddled with Griffin's wrist band well into the night, finally succeeding in removing it only to spend countless more hours digging into its belly, desperate for some kind of answer. The truth was, though, that it had indeed fried. What had caused the short circuit, he couldn't say for sure. It was old tech, though, built from the inner works of ancient machines and powered by nine hundred year old energy. It was possible it simply couldn't sustain in the moist air of Earth. But if that were the case, how many more wrist bands were compromised?

He needed to find out.

And as the sun began to break through the crimson branches of the trees, that's exactly what Hunk did. He busied himself with the very first of the awakened teens, pulling them aside and looking for evidence of the burning Griffin had had. James, for his part, ushered people to Hunk, masking his worry with the confidence he so readily portrayed. Hunk had to wonder if James was always afraid and just became really good at hiding it. If so, Hunk was a little jealous. His hands were shaking so bad from fear. The thought of his parents thinking he was dead was too much to handle.

So he kept busy, kept working. And as he worked, his hands shook more.

By the time the day had drained away to evening, he'd examined everyone in the camp and gathered together with Allura and James, he gave his results.

"Twelve."

The two stared at him wide-eyed, swallowing thickly. Twelve teens were 'dead' in the eyes of the Ark, not to mention the original two who'd died in the landing. Fourteen teens were 'dead' in the eyes of the Ark.

James shook his head, "That can't be right, there has to be a mistake."

Hunk shook his head, "I wish there were but twelve of us have burns like yours, James, which means their wristbands short-circuited just like yours."

There was a long beat of silence, a quiet contemplation of the situation they now found themselves in. It was after this that Allura spoke, voice quiet but determined. "We have to tell the others."

Griffin immediately retorted, "No. We can't. They'll panic and the last thing we need is chaos."

Her palms gripped tightly, "They deserve to know what we're up against. They deserve to know what's happening."

Putting his hands on his hips, Griffin frowned, "Right now, they're building our camp, our defenses against whatever attacked you and Lance. Do you really want to distract from that right now?"

Hunk chimed in, voice shaking, "Griffin's right, Allura." He wasn't usually one to stick his opinion out there but a conversation like this warranted it. "Bigfoot is still out there, maybe it's best if we just focus on that right now..."

Allura looked slightly betrayed and anger bloomed across her face, "We do not get to decide what the people know and don't know. It's our responsibility to—"

"To what? Cause disarray and anarchy?" James shook his head, "No, it's our responsibility to make sure we survive and we can't do that if everyone is worrying about their wrist bands."

Tension hung thick in the air as they waited for the next word. Hunk didn't like the argument, didn't think it was productive, so he tried to smooth things over. "We don't have to decide what to do right now anyway, right? We can sleep on it, address it later? What's done is done, after all, it's not like we can get the circuits on those wrist bands working again, so we just have to go from here, right? Right?" When the two didn't budge from their hardened stances, Hunk hesitated. If there was one thing the man hated, it was conflict. He'd grown up around it all his life, living in a less-than-funded part of the Ark. Constant fights and arguments, oftentimes over petty things, and Hunk simply didn't see the point. Everyone was suffering, why argue about it and make that suffering worse?

Now was no different.

Now wasn't the time for arguing, it was the time for unity.

"Let's just talk about it tomorrow, ok?" Hunk tried again, holding his breath as he did.

Finally, James relented. "Fine, let's talk about it tomorrow but for now, we say nothing."

Allura didn't say anything but she nodded and the three parted ways for the evening.

* * *

Day 337,121, AE 923

Ark Substation 1

Control Room

Krolia had been woken from a dead sleep to be dragged all the way to the Control Room. She was used to medical emergencies, bracing herself for the worst, but nothing could have prepared her for the numbness she felt as she looked at the screens.

Fourteen.

Fourteen were now dead.

"The same stats as before," Merla said, pointing to the data. "A sharp increase in stats and then nothing."

Krolia forced her mind to focus. "How long ago were the previous three?"

"About twelve hours, so half a day earth time."

Krolia puzzled through the information, uneasy with the conclusions she was coming to. Radiation was the biggest suspect. If it was dense enough, it could kill them that quickly. Another suspect was wild animals or poisoning. They had no way of knowing what had survived or, for that matter, if any of it was edible. Even with the supplies from Mt. Weather, the teens were looking at rations that were over nine hundred years old. No one could assure that long of a shelf life.

Fourteen meant danger, though. Something down there wasn't right.

She glanced at Keith's square, his stats elevated but continual. Working hard, possibly?

"Ma'am?" Merla's sharp voice caught Krolia's attention. "What do we do?"

Fear, uncertainty and worse yet, anxiety, coursed through her as her mind danced around the data points. Krolia had no idea what to do with this. She needed to report to Alfor, that much was a given, but what to tell him? She had no clue.

There were still 86 left alive, but 12 in two days didn't bode well. And the casualties were increasing in volume. First two and now twelve. Shaking, she said, "Get the Chancellor in here. He needs to see this."

Merla disappeared without another word, leaving Krolia alone with her thoughts. It'd give her time to think, at least, to try and justify what they were seeing. Oh how she wished they could communicate with the teens. If only the comms system hadn't been fried upon entry. She'd hoped against hope that things would go smoothly, that she wouldn't be standing here like she was now trying desperately to think of a reason behind the deaths of children.

If Earth wasn't survivable, things would become much worse for all those left aboard the Ark. With the scrubbers already working at 30%, she knew the next step to preserving the human race if Earth didn't work. It made her ill just thinking about it.

But at least Keith was still going strong. But, for how long? She tried not to think like that.

When the door slid open and the hail of the Chancellor was spoken, Krolia turned to see him. Alfor's eyes went immediately to the screens and his dark skin became as pale as snow. Stepping towards the screens, he touched them gingerly, as if caressing the very children at that moment. The obvious question didn't need to be spoken, so Krolia answered, "We don't know what happened to them, Alfor. All we know is they're dead..."

"Just like the others..."

"Just like the others," Krolia stepped over to the console that streamed the data, examining the many lines of numbers and stats. Somewhere in this information was an answer, she just knew it. But even as she raked her brain she couldn't figure out where. Her eyes returned to Alfor, who was still looking over the names of the dead teenagers.

"We may have just sent one hundred kids to their deaths..."

Krolia didn't want to think like that. Couldn't think like that. "There's a logical explanation. There has to be."

Merla's voice was numb, "Isn't it usually the simplest answer that's correct?"

Yes, Krolia knew about that old statistic. But she wasn't going to believe it with this, because the situation itself wasn't simple. "The truth is, if this is indeed radiation, it's not acting like it. Nor food poisoning or animal attacks... We'd see prolonged increases in their stats, indicating that they were suffering, that they were in pain. The data simply doesn't support that. Something else is happening, we just haven't figured it out yet..." They'd been arguing that since the original three had died and Krolia herself wasn't sure if she still believed it, but for Keith's sake, she had to.

It was Alfor who turned to speak to her, "Adam said the same thing...But he also said that we'd start to see a steep drop off if it was radiation. Twelve is what I'd call steep."

Biting her lip, Krolia tried to reason with that logic but found she had no ground to stand on. Other than hope. "We can't lose faith. We sent them down there, so we can't give up on them. Not yet."

sighing, Alfor nodded, "Keep me appraised..." And with a grim look on his face, he left the room, looking older than he had when he'd entered. Krolia exhaled thickly as he departed, eyes turning back to the screens. Radiation or not, only the teens knew, and there was no way of asking them for insight.

Or was there?

Krolia's brain began to whirl again and now, she had an idea.

* * *

Day 337, 122, AE 923

Earth

Northeastern United States

The glimmering, golden rays rose through the amber leaves as a cool wind pressed against the forest's floor, chilling a bundled Keith who'd made himself a small nest of blankets on the ground. Keith had had a fitful sleep, one that didn't see much of rest. But he sat up and stretched regardless. He knew forcing it wouldn't make sleep come, so he was better off giving up and going about his day. Besides, he wanted to check on Lance and Allura, the incident still very fresh in his mind.

Pushing it aside though—he'd spent all night puzzling over it anyway—he focused on the here and now. Whatever had attacked didn't appear to have followed, which meant they were safe for now. But Lance was still in critical condition and Allura wasn't fairing well, either. So he hurried to the drop ship to check in on them. When he got there, he found Allura had already beaten him to Lance's side. Quietly approaching, he looked down at the young teen before his eyes wandered over to Allura.

"How's he doing?"

Allura shrugged, "They've done what they can, but he still doesn't look good..." She laid a gentle hand on Lance's arm. "The truth is, we need the medical tech aboard the Ark, but..." She didn't have to finish for Keith to know the ending.

"There's got to be more we can do."

Furrowing her brow, she shook her head, "Other than basic first aid, we don't know anything else. And we don't know where we are so it's hard to say what planets might grow around here—if any at this point—that'd help."

She was right, but Keith didn't like it. Sighing, he leaned against the makeshift table and looked at Lance. He was asleep but appeared somewhat restless, his brow furrowed tight and his skin covered in a light sweat. At this rate, Lance's chances were diminishing far faster than his health was improving. He'd die before he could recover. There was only one thing Keith could think to do, and he knew it was way too reckless to even consider.

Allura's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Keith, there's something else, too..." His eyes were on her then, watching, waiting. Allura swallowed hard before speaking, her voice low. "It's about the wrist bands..."

Keith listened as she explained, his own body going numb with each word. What she was saying, it wasn't possible. But, the tech was almost 1000 years old. Was it really so surprising that it was breaking? He thought of his mom, of her dropping to her knees, tears welling in her eyes, as his sensors went dead. She'd think he was dead, but he'd still be here, on earth. And if the Ark thought they were dying, then... "We have to tell everyone."

Allura didn't look convinced of that, "Hunk and Griffin are right, it'll just cause panic. Maybe once things are built, maybe once we're safe..."

"No!" Keith didn't mean to shout, immediately dropping his voice, "We can't wait." He didn't have time to explain it to her, to have her go through the whole sea of emotions she'd run through, so he hurried outside, Allura on his heels.

"Keith, wait!"

But he wasn't listening. Climbing onto the nearest pile of lumber, he stood above the teenagers and raised his voice, "Everyone, listen!" Allura was climbing up moments later, grabbing his arm, eyes pleading. But he ignored her. She didn't know, but she'd know soon enough. "Our wristbands are breaking!"

There was shock and concern immediately as the teens gathered to listen. Keith immediately spotted Griffin in the crowd, a scowl set deeply on his face. What Keith would say next would change that, he

knew. "The Ark thinks we're dying!"

Whispers grew to shouts, fears, and Keith did his best to shout over it. "Listen! That's not even our biggest problem! The Ark is dying!" Silence. All eyes were on him and Keith swallowed thickly. "The Ark is dying and that's why they sent us down here. They wanted to see if Earth was survivable. And it is! But if they think we're dying then they won't come down here and things are going to get much worse for them up there!"

Griffin shouted, angry, scared, "What are you talking about? How do you know?"

"Shiro," it hurt to say the man's name, the memory of his suicide flooding forward in his brain. He pushed it back, forced it back. Now wasn't the time to get emotional. "He discovered that the CO2 scrubbers aren't working and that, within a few years, they're going to stop working all together. That's why we're down here."

Keith felt Allura's grip on his arm go lax, her voice hoarse as she whispered, "Then that means..."

"If they think we're dying, they won't follow and they'll likely die up there."

The entrancement of the crowd was gone, everyone whispering, some still disbelieving, as others began to cry and look at their wristbands.

It was a small voice from the crowd that brought them back. Speaking up, Katie Holt spoke with clarity, "Then we've got to find a way to fix them, let the Ark know we're not dying."

Hunk responded, "That's what I was thinking but I don't know how we'd even do that."

Katie crossed her arms, thinking, as Razavi spoke up, somewhat hesitantly. "Would using the drop ship help?"

"We could scavenge it for parts, maybe use it to replace whatever broke within the ruptured wrist bands..." She looked over at the drop ship, brown eyes examining it from top to bottom. "It has power, at least, so we could try to weld if worse comes to worst."

Hunk shuffled through the crowd, reaching Katie. "I'll help." Others volunteered too, looking pensive but sure. Keith couldn't help but give a small smile, knowing that he'd made the right choice. It reminded him of Shiro's desires, of his wish to tell the Ark about the CO2 scrubbers. Alfor had thought it'd cause a rebellion but Shiro had been convinced it'd bring people together. One saw darkness and the other saw hope. If anything, this bought of hopelessness had proven Shiro right. People would unite to try and find a solution. The very notion made Keith's stomach twist into knots.

 _Shiro died for nothing..._

He again forced any thought of the man to the back of his brain, into the darkest corner of his mind. And just as people were setting off to begin working over the drop ship, Keith spoke up. "We still need people working on the wall and the camp. That thing is still out there... and also..." Eyes glittering with determination, he stood tall and spoke. "I need volunteers. We're going into the forest to find a way to help Lance."

* * *

Day 337,122, AE 923

Ark Subsection 12

Storage Room

Adam hadn't expected Krolia to invite him to such an unusual place. Her house was usually where he'd been offered, but deep in the bowels of the Ark, far from sight and passing ears. Something unusually strange was going on with Krolia.

He'd only ever seen her like this—pacing, speaking in hurried, hushed tones, brain sparking faster than she could keep up—a couple of times. The first time had been after her husband's spacing. She'd been so frantic and obsessive that Adam had become convinced she'd snapped. But just like that, she'd pulled out of it. The other time was when this whole plan of sending 100 children to the ground was being devised. She'd stayed up for countless nights, worrying over schematics and trajectories. Now, though, she seemed even worse than before.

Now, he mused, it was probably because of Keith.

"Krolia?" He called over to her tentatively, unsure if she'd even hear him. She was standing in a small clearing, surrounded by large boxes and old cargo. She was pacing back and forth, mumbling words he couldn't hear. At his voice, she didn't stir. It was only after the second call that she finally looked up at him. She had a wild look in her eyes, like she'd come up with the craziest of ideas.

Heading towards her, Adam kept his voice low despite them being levels down from any living thing. "What's this about, Krolia?"

Krolia spoke, her words almost too fast for Adam to catch, "they think they're dying, Adam. But I don't believe it. There has to be another explanation for all of this."

"And I take it you've thought of one...or how to find one?"

She nodded, "Yes, but the chancellor would never approve, which is why we're meeting down here." So the cloak and dagger stuff made sense now. He motioned for her to continue.

"There are enough spare parts to fix up another drop ship."

Adam brought his brows together, giving her a concerned look. "Krolia, we dropped the kids in the only drop ship we had... or at least the only one we thought would survive reentry."

"I know, Adam, but we were looking at large vessels. I'm just looking at ones that will seat a couple of people." It was safe to say Adam didn't like where this conversation was going. "We fix up one of those small reentry crafts and my plan my just work."

Crossing his arms, giving as skeptical look he could muster—one he usually reserved for his students—he regarded Krolia critically. "You want to fix up a two seater...to go to earth?"

"Think about it, Adam. If we could get eyes on the ground, _communication_ to the ground, we could find the kids and figure out if things are really survivable." She was gesturing widely, as if more arm movements somehow proved her point.

"What happened to trusting the kids on this?"

"We were foolish to send them in the first place."

"Krolia, you're just worried about Keith."

She was shouting now, "Of course I'm worried about him! He's my little boy! I couldn't live with myself if he dies, I would have sent him to his own death!" She was suddenly tired, sitting down on a crate. She dropped her head into her hands, visibly shrinking. "It's our fault we didn't listen in the first place. It's our fault that our last hopes are placed on the shoulders of our children. It's our fault, Adam. My fault."

Sitting next to her, Adam put a sympathetic hand on her back, rubbing gently. "You can't blame yourself for this anymore than you can blame me..." He felt her back shudder and he knew she was crying. Adam had never been a big fan of helping those in such emotional states. He wasn't ever sure he was actually comforting. Though, he supposed, in times like these, comfort wasn't even possible. So he continued rubbing her back, speaking softly. "We've got to trust that these kids know what they're doing, that they can handle themselves down there..."

"I'm just so worried about Keith."

"I am, too," he sucked in a long breath, releasing it slowly, "But, I know he's going to be alright. He's smart and he's got your DNA. He'll figure things out. He always has." He could see her nodding into her hands, trying to accept his words as true. Adam wanted them to be true, too.

Sitting up slightly, Krolia spoke, wiping at her eyes. "It's a silly idea, huh? Sending another ship down..."

"No, no, I don't think it's silly. But I don't think it's a last resort." She eyed him curiously and he gave a small smile. "You're right about Alfor, so this...this we do on our own. For better or worse. If things go south, we'll have a back-up plan."

She smiled as well, albeit lightly, and sat up, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Then let's get to work. Let's see if we can find a way to fix a ship."


End file.
